Ash turned his head to look at me. "Oh? Is there something wrong?"
"For me? No. But I'm afraid... last night a lot of things got very clear for me, Ash. And one of those was that you hadn't listened to me the other night when I tried to tell you I was committing myself to this process with David."
Ash huffed and walked on. "Oh, I heard you. And I've seen how on edge you've been. I've always known that this was going to be... unhealthy. But it's okay, because I'm here for you."
I took a deep breath. "That's the point, Ash. You're here. And I'm very grateful to have you... as my Defender."
He nodded. "I know my role, Zara. Don't fear. I won't give the King any reason to distrust you, or target you. I will protect you until he proves his inconsistency. Then I'll get you away from this place."
We'd circled the small clearing and were back at the horses, but I sighed and kept walking. "No, Ash," I said as gently as I could. "I'm Select."
